Fruitful Living
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE LIKE JESUS?
• Jesus and disciples
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. – Ephesians 5:2
We saw this on YouTube about somebody’s understanding on how to be like Jesus. We found it fascinating and are happy to share it with you. Please enjoy it and share it with others.
Who is a Christian?
Eighteen hundred years ago in the second century a man called Diognetus wanted to know who a Christian was; The following was written to him to explain who a Christian is:
“The distinction between a Christian and others is not about a country language or customs language or customs.
• They follow local customs in clothing, food and the rest of life. And yet exhibit the wonderfully paradoxical nature of their own citizen.
• They live in their own countries, but it is as if they are resident aliens.
• They share all things as citizens and yet endure all things as if they are inferior. Every foreign country is their homeland, and every homeland is a foreign country.
• They marry like everyone else and have children, but they do not abort their young ones.
• They keep a common table but not a common bed. They live in the world but not in a worldly way.
• They enjoy a full life on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven.
• They obey the appointed laws, but they surpass the laws in their own lifestyle, they love everyone and are universally derided.
• They are unknown and do not criticise people.
• They are put to death and gain life.
• They are poor but make many rich.
• They lack all things and yet have all things in abundance.
• They are dishonoured and are glorified in their dishonour.
• They are abused but bless others in return.
• When they are beaten up, they rejoice as men who have been given a new life.
In short, although the soul is in the body, the Christians are in the world. The soul lives in the body but is not confined to the body. Although Christians live in the world they are not confined to the world. God has appointed them for this great calling, and it will be wrong for them to decline it.”
In addition to this here are eight portraits of what Christlikeness looks like.
To be like Jesus means to:
1. Accept our roots (Matthew 1:1-17)
The circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth might have raised questions in the minds of some. But Jesus never denied His ancestry or allowed others to shame Him. We also need to understand and accept our roots in terms of culture, race, gender and reputation. Moreover, like Jesus we want to avoid demeaning anyone else’s heritage.
2. Engage the world’s Pain and Struggle (1:18-2:23)
Jesus’s entry into human life was fraught with awkward tensions and human dilemmas: a miraculous birth, an earthly father who was considering a quiet divorce, an outraged king resorting to infanticide and a return to a homeland that remained hostile and dangerous. We too, are all born into some troubles and circumstances but we need to face up to the world and remain very much in it, despite all its troubles.
3. Commit Ourselves to other Believers. (Matthew 3:1-17)
John the Baptist was not an average individual. He lived in the wilderness – the ‘other side of the tracks’ for that day. He wore strange clothing and ate strange food. He was pugnacious, even offensive at times. Yet he helped launch Jesus’ career. In return, Jesus had nothing but praise for him. If we want to be like Jesus, we must not pick and choose our brothers and sisters in God’s family. We need to embrace other believers and demonstrate our unity in Christ, no matter how awkward or inconvenient.
4. Admit our Vulnerability to Temptation. (Matthew 4:1-11)
Matthew’s inclusion of the temptation is remarkable. It shows that the sinless Lord of the universe was tempted, just as we are. ‘For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need’. – Hebrews 4:15- 16.
If we want to be like Jesus, we must accept that temptation is real – need to be open about our struggles. In doing so we honour God, recognise the power of sin, and encourage others to do likewise.
5. Proclaim the Message of Christ. (Matthew 4:12-25)
Jesus’s life was not an open book, readable by all. To be sure, He lived a perfect, model life. But even that could not stand alone as an undeniable witness. His actions needed interpretation. So He supplemented His good deeds with good news. In the same way, we need to verbally declare our faith if we want to be like Christ. Certainly, we need to back up our words with a Christlike lifestyle. But what we tell others give meaning to our quiet walk and good deeds.
6. Commit to Changed Thinking and Behaviour (Matthew 5:1-7:27)
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explained the values of the kingdom. He showed that following Him will involve radical change for most of us. It may mean undoing the way we’ve always done things and rethinking traditional sources of wisdom from our parents and culture. To become like Jesus involves a tough-minded review of our values and a thorough change in our behaviour.
7. Serve Others. (Matthew 8:1- 9:38)
The Sermon on the Mount was immediately followed by ‘deeds in the valley’. Christlike values lead to servant actions – and it was obedient action that Jesus cared about, not just sermonising. Jesus modelled how to do the will of God by actively serving more than 25 different people. These included such undesirables as lepers, an officer of the Roman occupation troops, the sick, the demon-possessed, cave dwellers, tax collectors, and a diseased, outcast woman. If we want to be like Jesus, we need to befriend those who are weak, under oppression, or without Christ. Like Him, we need to become ‘a friend of sinners’. He offered much more than religious information – He served them.
8. Affirm Other Leaders. (Matthew 10:1-42)
Jesus invested Himself in the development of other people, particularly the Twelve. He gave them responsibility and authority. He accepted the risk that they might fail. Of course, He gave them adequate preparation before sending them out, and on their return He affirmed them on their successful completion of the mission. Jesus calls us to help others grow. If we want to be like Him, we will share the joys and risks of working together with our brothers and sisters.
To Ponder
Please remember that there should be a distinction between you and others who are not Christians. ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!’ -2 Corinthians 5:17.
Stay blessed!
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By Dr. Joyce Aryee, the author
“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; no one seeks God. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe. For there is no difference.” — Rom. 3:10, 21–22 (NIV)
INTRODUCTION
We bring you this week the concluding part of “A Righteousness Revolution,” published last week. For ease of reference, we recap the last paragraph of last week’s article. Please enjoy and pass it on!
THE GOAL OF THIS TRANSFORMATION
What is the goal of this metamorphosis? Scripture states it in a number of different ways, which overlap and can be seen as different ways of expressing the same basic concept. Scripture often does this because our minds are inadequate to comprehend, and our language inadequate to express, the full scope of God’s revelation to us.
TO BECOME LIKE GOD IN CHARACTER
The whole concept can be summed up in the simple and astonishing statement that we are to become like God. Not like God in power; we can never aspire to that, although we can move in much greater power than many Christians have ever imagined. But like God in character.
We are to “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” — Eph. 5:24; the “new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” — Col. 3:10. “We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” — 2 Cor. 3:18. “When He appears we shall be like Him” — 1 John 3:2. We are to “participate in the divine nature” — 2 Pet. 1:4. We can have “the mind of Christ” — 1 Cor. 2:16; Phil. 2:5. (Emphasis added in each case.)
Adam and Eve were created in the image of God — Gen. 1:26. With Adam’s Fall, much of that image was lost. But with Christ’s sacrifice for us, those who accept Him as Lord and Saviour can be restored into God’s image.
“Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man [the first Adam], so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven [the second Adam, Jesus Christ]” — 1 Cor. 15:49.
Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” — John 14:12.
We think of this (if we dare think of it at all) as meaning that we can heal, cast out demons and even raise people from the dead. It does mean that, and people who have faith in Jesus Christ are doing that now. But does it not mean more?
Jesus said that He did only what He saw the Father doing and spoke only the words the Father gave Him. Can we, should we, expect to do the same? He said, “I and the Father are one.” Can we expect this for ourselves? He said, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” — John 14:9. Can this be said of us?
Paul told the Corinthians that they were “clearly an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart” — 2 Cor. 3:3 (NKJV).
Is this not part of what it means to “be” His witness — Acts 1:8 — so that people can look at us and see Christ? We are to be witnesses by who we are, not just what we say. Jesus expects that there will be something different about us, that people will be able to look at us and know that we are His disciples — John 13:35.
He said of His disciples, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of it” — John 17:16.
His demands are to imitate and model Christ’s behaviour and to be clear reflections of the Lord — Matthew 5:16.
ESTABLISHING OUR ATTITUDE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Writing from a prison cell in Rome, the apostle Paul wrote about the attitude a Christian should have: “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” — Philippians 1:27.
He is telling us that no matter what unexpected disruptions, frustrations or difficulties come our way, we are to respond with a Christ-like attitude.
Paul later writes, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ” — Philippians 2:5. He also encourages us in Ephesians 5:1 to be “imitators of Christ as dearly beloved children.”
As children love to imitate what they see and repeat what they hear, we also are charged to imitate and model Christ’s behaviour and to be clear reflections of the Lord.
Jesus maintained a perfect attitude in every situation because He prayed about everything and worried about nothing. We, too, should seek God’s guidance about every aspect of our lives and allow Him to work out His perfect will without interference.
Jesus’ attitude was never to become defensive, discouraged or depressed because His goal was to please the Father rather than to achieve His own agenda.
In the midst of trials, He was patient. In the midst of suffering, He was hopeful. In the midst of blessing, He was humble. Even in the midst of ridicule, abuse and hostility, He “made no threats . . . and did not retaliate. Instead He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly” — 1 Peter 2:23.
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS: LOVING MUHAMMAD MEANS FOLLOWING MUHAMMAD
We say: “We love the Prophet.”
Alhamdulillah.
But the real test of love is not how loudly we shout when someone insults him.
The real test is: Do we behave as he behaved?
Allah says: “Indeed, you are surely of outstanding character.” (Qur’an 68:4)
And Allah says: “Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example.” (Qur’an 33:21)
Therefore, if we claim to defend Muhammad (pbuh) but abandon his patience, mercy, justice and wisdom, we must ask ourselves:
Are we really defending him or are we betraying his example?
AN INSULT DOES NOT MAKE A PRIVATE PERSON A JUDGE AND EXECUTIONER
This point must be understood clearly.
Islam has laws concerning crimes.
Islam has courts.
Islam has legitimate authority.
Islam does not turn every angry individual into judge, jury and executioner.
The Qur’an says: “O believers! Stand firm for justice.” (Qur’an 4:135)
And the Prophet gave severe warnings against unlawful killing.
He said: “Whoever kills a person under covenant will not smell the fragrance of Paradise.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, 3166)
Therefore, no Muslim should stand in a mosque and mobilize ordinary people to kill another person because of an insult.
That is not prophetic leadership.
That is not emotional courage.
That is not the Sunnah.
And it is certainly not a license for vigilantism.
If an offence has been committed, report it.
If a crime has been committed, let the competent authorities investigate it.
If punishment is legally warranted, let lawful judicial institutions determine it.
The Ghana Police Service has itself reminded religious leaders and the public that freedom of religion or expression cannot be used to justify inciting violence or encouraging people to harm others.
For Muslims, this is not merely a question of Ghanaian law.
It is also a question of taqwā (fear of Allah).
THE PROPHET TAUGHT US HOW TO SPEAK
Allah says: “Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in the best manner.” (Qur’an 16:125)
This is the Islamic methodology of da’wah:
Wisdom.
Good counsel.
Best argument.
Not abuse.
Not threats.
Not mob action.
Not revenge.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO WHEN SOMEONE INSULTS THE PROPHET MOHAMMED (PBUH)?
Servants of Allah, remember these SEVEN STEPS.
1. PAUSE
Do not react while you are angry.
Allah praises those: “Those who restrain anger and pardon people.” (Qur’an 3:134)
2. VERIFY
Do not forward every video.
Do not believe every audio.
Do not react to an edited clip without knowing the context.
10 | P a g e
Allah says: “Then verify.” (Qur’an 49:6)
3. DO NOT RETALIATE WITH AN INSULT
Remember Qur’an 6:108.
We do not insult Jesus (Peace be upon him).
We do not insult Christianity.
We do not insult churches.
We do not insult the Bible.
We can disagree theologically while remaining respectful.
The author is the chief Imam of katamanso Municipal and Certified Counsellor and Governance Exper
